Press release: Leading music organisations collaborate on a new digital resource for early years music education
NewsNews Story
This spring, Orchestras Live and NYMAZ have collaborated with musicians and dancers from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) and South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk) to produce Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond / Mausam.
This partnership has produced a brand new, multi-part digital resource pack for early years, featuring music and dance, comprising five films and an illustrated guide with extra activities.
Taking youngsters through a day in the life of a pond, it features a wealth of song and dance to engage under-5s with music.
It introduces musical themes and concepts through an enchanting storyline written by Hazel Gould, comprising four bitesize films, which prepare the young audience for a final celebration performance, Rain, with a brand new commission for the unique ensemble written by Preetha Narayanan. The resource is fully digital and designed to introduce musical concepts to young viewers at an enjoyable and comfortable pace.
Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond / Mausam is accompanied by a fully illustrated resource to guide teachers, practitioners and anyone who works with early years children through the material, and has extension activities that link to the early years curriculum to explore themes in even more detail.
Inspiring children in their music making is a key part of everything we do at Orchestras Live. We are thrilled to be releasing Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond/Mausam, developed and created with our Musical Journeys partners over the last two years. Working digitally enables orchestral music to reach many more early years settings across the country and we hope bringing musicians together in an enchanting landscape will inspire lots of creative music making and movement, sparking a lifelong interest in music for young children.
~ Sarah Derbyshire, CEO, Orchestras Live
NYMAZ is delighted to release this new digital resource for the early years foundation stage. Overcoming barriers to access is at the heart of NYMAZ’s work, and we aim to ensure we are reaching as many people as possible with our music-making activities. By making this a digital resource, we are producing an opportunity to access high quality, professional performances in viewers’ own time from the comfort of their homes, settings and schools.
~ Sarah McWatt, Director NYMAZ
'Mausam is a collaboration of early western and Indian instruments that offer an auditory and visual treat for all viewers, especially little ones, through whose eyes the world remains a glorious place of diverse colours, shapes, and sounds. A place where sound becomes music in the hands of highly talented generous musicians, whether they are playing a clay pot or a bow or set of wooden hammers on strings, and magic is created. A place where no borders exist, and a magical wonder can be experienced by adults through the eyes, ears, and actions of children, no matter which walk of life each of us is from.
~ Keranjeet Kaur Virdee, Chief Executive and Artistic Director, South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk)
Musicians from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have been on a wonderful journey working with musicians and kathak dancer Seetal Kaur from South Asian Arts-uk. This has encouraged us to work in different ways, developed our artistic practice through collaboration, helped us to discover our musical similarities and differences, and then incorporate those magical elements for young audiences. We look forward to giving as many young people as possible the chance to explore this resource and to enjoy it as much as we all have.
~ Cherry Forbes, OAE Education Director
The full resource costs just £30, and a special promotional code is available for early years practitioners based within North Yorkshire. Multiple order discounts are available.
Pre-orders open for the resource today, 29 March 2022, with the full pack landing in April.
Contact:
For further information, sample images or interview requests, please contact Tessa Norton on behalf of NYMAZ: tessanorton@gmail.com
Notes to editors
A Day at the Pond / Mausam is available to pre-order from https://connectresound.live/musical-journeys-a-day-at-the-pond-mausam/
The resource has been designed for early years children, although practitioners working with key stage one may also find it of interest.
The full resource costs £30 per setting. Practitioners based within North Yorkshire itself will be emailed a special promotional code when they register their interest. Bespoke rates are available for multiple copies.
The purchase price includes:
- Four films each introducing music and movement;
- A fifth final celebration film, Rain, drawing together the themes of the project in an enjoyable way;
- A fully illustrated resource, bringing the themes to life;
- And a scheme of work, enabling you to integrate the learning into your early years practice straight away.
Organisational biographies
Orchestras Live
Orchestras Live believes that orchestras are for everyone and that live orchestral music has the power to inspire people for a lifetime. A national producer and music charity based in Leeds, we work with a broad range of artistic partners, including the country’s leading professional orchestras, to ensure everyone can access world-class orchestral experiences.
Our work involves a range of local partners including local authorities, music education hubs, community groups and welfare providers, across England and particularly in rural and coastal communities, which are traditionally culturally under-served.
Twitter @OrchestrasLive
Instagram @orchestras_live
NYMAZ
NYMAZ is a youth music development charity which champions the transformative potential of music for children and young people. We know that music has the power to change lives – it can raise aspirations, enable personal and social development, and enhance career prospects. Working with our trusted partners, we deliver high quality music-making activities across North Yorkshire to those in challenging circumstances, including rural isolation. We are also committed to strengthening the sector through workforce development, building strategic partnerships and advocating for the benefits of participatory music.
Operational since 2001, NYMAZ’s vision is that all young people in North Yorkshire will have the opportunity to actively engage in music, regardless of their circumstances. NYMAZ is proud to be one of the 13 partners in the Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England, a collective of leading music organisations working together to promote diversity and cultural democracy in music education.
Twitter @NYMAZmusic
Instagram @nymazmusic
SAA-UK
South Asian Arts-uk (SAA-uk) is the centre of excellence in Indian classical music and dance. Since our creation back in June 1997, we have been a pioneering charity organisation, focused on celebrating and educating South Asian Classical dance and music, as well as pushing the boundaries of how traditional and contemporary South Asian arts are taught, performed and experienced by audiences.
Twitter: @southasianartuk
Instagram: @southasianartsuk
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
In 1986, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. Since then, the OAE has shocked, changed and mesmerised the music world. Residencies at Acland Burghley School, the Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne haven’t numbed its experimentalist bent. Record deals haven’t ironed out its quirks. Period-specific instruments have become just one element of its quest for authenticity. Today the OAE is cherished more than ever. It still pushes for change, and still stands for excellence, diversity and exploration. More than thirty years on, there’s still no orchestra in the world quite like it.
Twitter: @theoae